Mercy Turner
Founding Story
The Abhayagiri Monastery was established in Redwood Valley, California in the lineage of Theravada master Ajahn Chah who practiced the Thai Forest Tradition of Buddhism. The monastery was established in 1996 shortly after the Venerable Master Hsuan Hua (founding abbot of The City of Ten Thousand Buddhas) gifted 120 acres of land to Ajahn Chah’s followers in 1995. Venerable Master Hsuan Hua’s gift served as a gesture of friendship and was made in hope of unity between the long ago split northern and southern Buddhist traditions. However, the first efforts of establishing Abhayagiri were made by Ajahn Sumedho and Ajahn Amaro. Ajahn Sumedho, the senior western disciple of Ajahn Chah, gained the first United States following of Ajahn Chah’s teachings when he began visiting Northern California in the 1980s. Eventually, Ajahn Amaro would assist Ajahn Sumedho in making their joint vision of a California Monastery in Ajahn Chah’s lineage a reality. After Ajahn Chah’s disciples received Venerable Master Hsuan Hua’s generous gift of land, they were able to finally achieve the mission of Ajahn Sumedho and Ajahn Amaro. The monastery was named “Abhayagiri” in the Pali language to show respect for the roots of the Theravada tradition and to hearken back to the welcoming and tolerant community of the old Abhayagiri Monastery in Sri Lanka.
Known for his simple, meaningful method of teaching and his love of connecting with people of all kinds, Ajahn Chah himself was very influential. He was born in 1918 in a village of northeast Thailand and became a fully ordained monk at the age of 20. Ajahn Chah was well versed with the written Buddhist scripture and teachings, but found he lacked the disciplined lifestyle and counsel for meditation he desired. To achieve his new goals, Ajahn Chah became a wandering monk, studying under several local meditation masters. He eventually settled in a forest near his childhood village where a monastery was later built. This is where he also gained a substantial and enthusiastic following of both monastics and laypeople. In addition to the common characteristics of Forest tradition living, such as living austerely in mind and body and in undergoing a meaningful transformation, Ajahn Chah taught his highly valued concepts of community and right view, which he believed to be absolutely necessary to progression on the path to enlightenment. While Ajahn Chah passed away in 1992, his teachings remain in full force, living on in the over 300 monasteries worldwide established in his lineage.
Abhayagiri is currently led by Abbot Ajahn Ñāṇiko, who received his training from Abhayagiri where he was ordained as a bhikkhu in 2003. He later trained for several years in Thailand, but returned to Abhayagiri as co-abbot where he went on to become the serving abbot of the monastery.
Tradition (Practices and Views)
The Abhayagiri Monastery, as aforementioned, follows the Thai forest tradition of the Theravada, or Southern School of Buddhism. Theravada Buddhism adheres strictly to the oldest Buddhist teachings and precepts, or those said to be directly from the Buddha in his lifetime. When it became apparent that corruption was spreading through Buddhist communities in Thailand, the importance of Forest Practice in Thai Buddhism was renewed. Furthermore, the Thai Theravada tradition, known for its variety in practice and discipline as well as focus on studies and administration, had become very relaxed. Thus, in the 19th century, Thailand’s Theravada tradition had obviously left behind many teachings from original Buddhist texts in addition to the belief in great spiritual progression. Accordingly, little time was spent teaching meditative practices. However, this leniency and wandering from tradition did result in the establishment of today’s Thai Forest tradition, first taught by Ajahn Mun and the man he trained under, Ajahn Sao. Following in the footsteps of Ajahn Mun, many great masters would learn from his guidance and teachings, including Ajahn Chah. This rebirth of the forest practice took place in northeastern Thailand, thriving in an environment where the people had little in the way of material things but were rich in good spirits and wisdom. Essentially, this renewal of tradition was a return to a greater discipline and simplicity of life and a heightened focus on meditation as a necessary means of achieving enlightenment. The Forest tradition had traditionally held much significance even before the birth of the Buddha, when those seeking spiritual wisdom would wander in the wilds of nature. This tradition would gain further meaning and importance to later followers of Buddha as the Buddha himself, in the process of discovering the middle path between extremes, adopted this lifestyle. Not only does the forest hold symbolic significance (the most important times in the life of the Buddha took place there including his birth, enlightenment, teaching, and death), but it is an excellent place for disciples to focus and meditate away from the world and material things, and to overcome spiritual challenges like fear, which the wild animals and other perils of wilderness living would provide in abundance.
Daily practices in Abhayagiri are in many ways similar to that of other Forest monasteries. For instance, days begin early at around 3 a.m. and are followed by a simple meal, chores, doctrinal study, meditation, chanting, and other practices such as yoga. In addition, time is devoted to community meditation and group chanting as well as to presenting offerings and bowing to the Buddha and hearing Dharma talks by the monks. In the spirit of reaching out to people of all kinds, the abbot and senior monks gather in the Dharma hall to answer any questions visitors may have. Every activity of the day is performed with the goal of practicing mindfulness, connecting what is learned from meditation, studying relations with other people, and developing virtue and generosity along with focused meditative practice.
Spreading West
Monasteries established in Ajahn Chah’s lineage welcome people of nationalities and backgrounds. In fact, Ajahn Chah himself had so many foreign followers that he established the International Forest Monastery called Wat Pa Nanachat, which provides monastic training for many nationalities. The first of Ajahn Chah’s foreign disciples was Ajahn Sumedho, who played a pivotal role in establishing Abhayagiri. After opening a monastery in London (the first to be opened outside of Thailand that followed Chah’s teachings), Ajahn Sumedho continued his work by founding a rush of monasteries all over Europe as well as other parts of the world, including centers specifically for the development of nun communities
Connections
Abhayagiri does have its connections with the Ajahn Chah’s international communities, but more importantly, its community interacts with other Buddhist communities in Northern California and elsewhere in the United States, and especially with lay groups. Lay groups have the opportunity to regularly meet and hear monastics present Dharma, or be guided in meditative practice. One particularly special branch of the Abhayagiri Monastery can be found in Washington state, and is known as the Pacific Hermitage. While Abhayagiri is quite open to visits from laypeople and travelers, the Pacific Hermitage provides refuge for a small number of monks who wish to focus on meditation, live simply, and experience solitude. Like Abhayagiri, however, these devoted monks interact with the lay people frequently through leading meditation groups and teaching.
Community Reflections
Like Ajahn Chah, the members of Abhayagiri’s community particularly value the concept of right view as part of the Eightfold Path to enlightenment. Ṭhānissaro Bhikku shares this reflection, “How and Why to Judge,” on his beliefs regarding right view and the path to enlightenment:
“The purpose for which admirable friends judge you is not simply to arrive at the judgment. They want to help you recognize why your mistakes are mistakes, so that you can learn not to repeat them…. If they judge you in these ways, your friends show that they’ve developed both of the discernment factors of the path: right view—in seeing the importance of action—and right resolve, in extending goodwill to you. If you internalize their standards, you’re internalizing the path as well.”
- First Things First: Essays on the Buddhist Path, (pdf) pp. 16-17.
Another central practice in Abhayagiri is that of generosity in community, as can be observed in Ajahn Sumedho’s reflection, “Praiseworthy:”
“The advantages of community life lie in our ability to be sensitive and caring, to be considerate and thoughtful of other human beings. A life without generosity, respect and giving to others is a joyless life. Nothing is more joyless than selfishness.”
- Peace is a Simple Step (Ajahn Sumedho Anthology, Volume 1), (pdf) pp.168, 172.
Meditation is also central to life in the Forest monastery as stated in the reflection titled “Happy to Stay at Home,” by Ajahn Yatiko:
“We need to use our time here to not only develop service and generosity, which is so important to communal living and harmony, but also to pay attention to our formal meditation practice—sitting and walking—and developing the ability to put things down.”
- Beginning Our Day, Volume Two, (pdf) pp. 239-240.
Sources:
https://www.abhayagiri.org/reflections
DeGraff, Geoffrey. First Things First: Essays on the Buddhist Path, (pdf) pp. 16-17.
Peace is a Simple Step (Ajahn Sumedho Anthology, Volume 1), (pdf) pp.168, 172.
Beginning Our Day, Volume Two, (pdf) pp. 239-240.